Huskies’ David Crisp: Mike Hopkins told us he ‘didn’t come here to rebuild’

David Crisp and the Huskies have turned into Pac-12 contenders under Mike Hopkins. (AP)

LISTEN: David Crisp, UW Guard

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First-year Washington coach Mike Hopkins inherited a Huskies team coming off a particularly disappointing 2016-17 season in which it managed just a 2-16 record in Pac-12 play. But as junior guard David Crisp tells it, Hopkins didn’t arrive in Montlake expecting growing pains before the Huskies found success again on the hardwood.

“That first meeting he let us know that he didn’t come here to rebuild, he came here to win. Guys really took that and bought in,” Crisp told 710 ESPN Seattle’s Danny, Dave and Moore on Tuesday.

The results support Crisp’s point – Washington sits in third place in the conference with a 7-3 record, and at 17-6 overall they were just 22 points short of being included in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.

“It’s stuff you dream of,” Crisp, a Tacoma native, said of the Huskies’ turnaround and the energy that has created in their fan base and at home games.

Hopkins has been the catalyst of it all, and Crisp provided insight on why his coaching style has worked so well, so quickly.

“He’s one of the most real and genuine dudes that I’ve met. From the first conversation that I had with him, I knew from the jump that we were going to get into something special this year,” Crisp said. “Just knowing that your coach believes in you that much and your coach is a real, genuine guy and he knows exactly what he’s doing, it’s easy to follow suit. We did that, put in the work in the offseason, and nice to see it’s paying off.”

You can listen to the full conversation with Crisp at this link at the conclusion of Danny, Dave and Moore’s Tuesday show.